Panel mounting



Nov. 29, 1960 F. MUCKLERv PANEL MOUNTING Filed Dec. 4, 1958 PANELMoUN'riNG Frank Mucider, Sappington, Mo., assgnor to Southern EquipmentCompany, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Filed Dec. 4, 1958,Ser. No. 778,118

3 Claims. (Cl. S12- 257) This invention relates generally to the panelart, and in particular, to a novel mounting for attaching a wall panelto a base stand.

Heretofore, Wall paneling has been fastened to base elements in somemanner that required a workman to have access to the rear of the elementto fasten the units together, or else required special equipment to formthe desired tight connection. The prior installations have not beenentirely satisfactory, due mostly to the unhandiness of having to move acumbersome base element to attach or detach a wall panel, and alsopartly to the fact that mechanical connections such as screws, clamps,etc. become worn after use with the wall panel and consequently areloose fitting.

Another diiiculty with some prior back bar units is that they requirespecial fastening means for attachment to the wall of a room. Some wallsare not adaptable to have the heavy back bar units attached thereto.Also the base elements and the back bar elements are heavy, and it isdesirable to be able to assemble them in the work area of a room wherethere is space to move around, and then move the entire unit intoposition.

An object of the present invention is to overcome the hereinbeforementioned difficulties, and more speciiically it is an object of thisinvention to provide a wall panel mounting means which will provide asecure fit between wall panel and base stand without the necessity forother fastening means.

Another object of this invention is to provide a wall panel having meansthereon whereby said panel can be connected to a base element from thefront, obviating the necessity for moving the base element to obtain asecure t therebetween.

A further object is to provide mounting means in combination with a wallpanel and a base stand by means of which said wall panel can be securelyand conveniently connected and disconnected to said base element withoutusing other securing means.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a means offastening a back bar to a base stand which allows the unit to beassembled in a work area and then moved into the space where it will beused.

Another object is to provide means of fastening a back bar to a basestand whereby the need for elaborate back bar fastening means attachedto the Wall of a room is eliminated.

Another object is to provide a mounting means for attaching a singlewall panel to a plurality of base stands. Still another object is toprovide a mounting means including a member attached to the base standand a member attached to the wall panel, said members being interlockingwhen the wall panel is assembled to the base stand with the bottom edgeof the wall panel resting on the top of the base stand.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent hereinafter.

The present invention comprises a mounting means to secure a wall panelto a base stand. More specifically,

r ts arent the invention comprises a mounting means to secure a`wallpanel to a base element including a first member slidably positioned ina second member to move through the second member lengthwise and beentrapped therein, said wall panel and base element having mutualbearing surfaces to stabilize the wall panel adjacent the base element.

The invention further consists in the panel mounting, and in the partsand combination of parts hereinafter descirbed and claimed.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a back bar unit showing the installationof a wall panel onto a. base elemen utilizing the present mountingmeans,

Fig. 2 is a back view of the installation of Fig. 1 showing the mountingmeans,

Fig. 3 is a greatly enlarged broken fragmentary side I,view in partialsection of the mounting means of the present invention, with the endcover panel broken away to show the mounting means in greater detail,taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a greatly enlarged broken fragmentary back view in partialsection of the present invention,

Fig. 5 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the mountingmeans taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 6 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the assembledmounting means taken along line 6-6 of Fig. 4.

1n Fig. 1, the present invention is shown embodied on a back bar unit 10including a wall panel 11 and a base unit 12. The novel mounting means13 which comprises this invention includes a male support member 14fastened to the wall panel 11, and a corresponding female support member15 fastened to the base unit 12 and adapted to receive the male supportmember 14.

The wall panel 11 includes a front panel 16 having wrap around sideWalls 17 at either end and U-shaped stifening channels 1S spaced alongthe back thereof. The bottom edge of the front panel 16 is bent into aU-shape to provide a support section 19 and an upturned strengtheninglip 20 which extends between the side walls 17 of the front panel 16(Fig. 2) The top of the front panel 16 is bent into a -similar U-shapeand includes sec` tion 21 parallel to section 19 and downturned lip 22.A wrap-around end cover 2.3 is fastened onto the end of the back barunit 1G to give a iinished effect thereto. Decorative trim 24 can beadded to close the space between the end cover 23 and the front panel16. As s'hofwn in Fig. l, the Wall panel 11 includes shelves 27 and atop trim panel 28.

The base unit 12 includes a cover panel 31 having a tlat portion 32forming the top of the base unit 12 and an upturned splash wall portion33, which with the front panel 16 of the wall panel 11 form-s a.continuous front face for the back bar unit 10. The upturned splashportion 33 is further bent in an U-shape to form a platform section 34with a downturned strengthening lip 35 extending the length thereof. Thebase unit 12 itself may be any conventional type. and is illustrated bya back bar unit having a top 36, sides 37, a drawered front 39, andsupported by legs 40. l

As hereinbefore mentioned, the mounting means 13 inciudes a male supportmember 14 and a coacting female support mernlber 15. The male member 14is preferably a U-shaped channel -formed with legs 43 and 44 spacedapart by spacing member 45 and having free margins 46 and 47respectively. The spacing member 45 is attached to the upturned lip 20and the downturned lip 22 of the front panel 16 by any suitable means,such as spot welding, and thus forms a complete wall panel havingmounting means in the form of a male support member at* tached thereto.

. inwardly to trap the male support member 14 when it `is insertedtherein.

The spacing member 58 of the female support member is attached to thebase unit 12 at the downturned lip 35 of the cover panel 31 and atceases the back 38 of said base unit 12 by any suitable means,

`such as spot welding. v

While the mounting means have been shown as of `generally U-shape andbeing in the form of channels, it

is contemplated that they may be of any suitable shape, in so long asthere is a coacting at surface to lock the members from relativerotative movement. If more than one pair of male and female members areused, they may even be of a circular shape, because the plurality ofmounting means will keep the members from any rotative movement.

When it is desired to attach a wall panel onto a base unit using thehereinbefore described mounting means, the male elements 14 attached tothe wall panel 11 are inserted into the corresponding female elements 15attached to the base unit 12 until the support section `19 of the wallpanel 11 rests against the platform section 34 of the cover panel 31 ofthe base section 12. The U- shaped male member 14 of the mounting means13 is en` closed by the generally G-shaped female member 15. The sidewalls 43 and 44 and spacing member 45 of the male member 14 have theirouter faces respectively adl jacent the inner =faces of the side walls56 and 57 and the spacing member 58 of the female member 15, with thefree margins 46 and 47 of the male member side walls 43 and y441entrapped by the inwardly bent outer margins 59 and 60 of the female.member side walls 56 and 57.

Thus the wall panel 11 can be attached and detached to the base unit 12without any mechanical locking means and without the necessity for aworkman to have access to the back of the unit. The interlockingchannels 14 and 15 form a tight and secure mounting means and theadjacent bearing surfaces 19 and 34 provide a stop means for the wallpanel, and hold it adjacent an outer margin of the top of the basestand. construction shown for disclosure purposes two sets of While inthe interlocking mounting means are shown, it is to be understood thatone set can be used if the back bar is small,

y or more than two can be used if desired. Also, one wall panel can forma back for more than one base stand, if

desired.

It is therefore apparent that I have provided a novel mounting means forwall panels which fulfills all the objects and advantages soughttherefor.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description and theaccompanying drawings have been given only by way of illustration andexample, and that changes and alterations in the present disclosure,which will be readily comprises an open-ended first mounting memberfixed to the back of the splash wall and the base stand, said mem- 4 berincluding a back wall, spaced apart side walls and inturned anges at theouter margins of the side walls, and a second mounting member xed to theback of the back bar and protruding beyond the bottom liange thereof,the second member received in the open end of the rst member,longitudinally movable therethrough, and including a back wall andspaced apart side walls received adjacent the corresponding back andside walls of the iirst member and trapped in the first member by theinturned iianges thereon, the members being constructed and arranged sothat the back bar -is positioned atop the splash wall to providetherewith a smooth continuous back wall for the back bar and base standcombination.

2. In a back bar and base stand combination including a splash wallextending above the top of the base stand, the top margin of the splashwall defined by an inturned flange portion, the back bar having aninturned bottom flange engaged with the top flange of the splash wall,the improvement which comprises an open-ended irst mounting member fixedto the back of the splash wall and the base stand, said member includinga back wall, spaced apart side walls and inturned anges at the outermargins of the side Walls, a second mounting member fixed to the back ofthe back bar and protruding beyond the bottom ange thereof, the secondmember received in the open end of the iirst member, longitudinallymovable therethrough, and including a back wall, and an end cover panelpositioned against the end margins of the back bar, the splash wall andthe base stand to hide the mounting members from view and with the sideof the base stand providing a continuous side panel for the back bar andbase stand combination.

3. In a back bar and base stand combination including a splash wallextending above the top of the base stand, the bottom of the back bardefined by an inturned bottom flange with an upturned lip at the outermargin thereof, the top of the splash wall deiined by an inturned flangewith a downturned lip in a different plane from the plane of the lip onthe back bar bottom liange, the splash wall top flange and the back barbottom ange being in engagement, the improvement which comprises anopenended first mounting member fixed to the lip of the splash wall andthe base stand, said member including a back wall equal in thickness tothe lip of the back wall bottom ange, spaced apart side walls, andinturned anges at the outer margins of the side walls, and a secondmounting member xed to the back of the back bar and protruding beyondthe bottom tiange thereof, the second member received in the open end ofthe first member, longitudinally movable therethrough, and including aback wall and spaced apart side walls received adjacent thecorresponding back and side walls of the first member in uniform slidingengagement and trapped in the iirst member by the inturned flangesthereon, the members being constructed and arranged so that the back baris positioned atop the splash wall to provide therewith a smoothcontinuous back wall for the back bar and base stand combination.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS972,137 Wise Oct. 4, 1910 '1,915,727 Friedemann June 27, 1933 2,335,896Anderson Dec. 7, 1943 2,600,578 Royer June 17, 1952 2,636,224 Murdoch etal. Apr. 28, 1953 2,808,218 Steller Oct. 1, 19'57 2,820,678 Huber Jan.21, 1958 l i l n

